Celtic sign off in style but have missed the edge only Rangers can provide

Nothing more can be asked of a season in the east end of Glasgow than that it
contributes to Celtic legend and – thanks to the two epic Champions League
encounters with Barcelona – the campaign now nearing its end has complied.

Champions: Celtic celebrate with the SPL trophy, which has been earned by their impressive home formPhoto: PA

There is also the likely garnish of a domestic double if Neil Lennon’s players justify their status as favourites to win the Scottish Cup against Hibernian at Hampden Park on May 26.

The same certainly cannot be said of Celtic’s SPL endeavours, however, although their 4-0 victory over St Johnstone in the ultimate game of the season at Parkhead was typical of the home form that has seen opponents routinely filleted there. Since New Year’s Day, Lennon’s side have won all 10 contests on their own patch, scoring 39 goals for the loss of nine.

Yet Celtic have failed to win a league fixture on the road since they beat Caley Thistle in Inverness on Feb 3 and if they do not conclude their schedule with a victory over Dundee United at Tannadice next Sunday this title success will have been achieved with the lowest points total since the SPL began in 1998.

In its first season the top division was won by Rangers with 77 points – the total Celtic will equal if they draw on Tayside – but that was in a 10-team league with two fewer fixtures.

Another measure is the number of times the second-placed team finished with more points than the current champions can achieve. On nine occasions from a possible 15, the runners-up have surpassed the 79 points which Celtic will achieve if they complete their league schedule with a victory next Sunday.

The demands of the European campaign have been cited as a contributory cause of the comparatively meagre points total and a dozen Champions League fixtures undoubtedly stretched Lennon’s resources.

Again, though, a recent comparison suggests another explanation. In 2007-08 Rangers played a total of 19 matches – equivalent to half a campaign in the SPL – in the Champions League and Uefa Cup, but still mustered 86 points to finish three points adrift of Celtic, despite a severely congested finish in Europe, the SPL and Scottish Cup.

The fact that Celtic’s current maximum possible points total would have seen them come third in 60 per cent of the SPL campaigns to date does not square with the standard of football displayed in most of the Champions League games which saw the Hoops remain in the competition after Chelsea and Manchester City had been eliminated.

Nor does the explanation offered by James Forrest, who scored Celtic’s third goal against St Johnstone with a fine drive after being set up by Gary Hooper, eight minutes into the second half. Asked about the quality of a league campaign that justified its rating as a foregone conclusion, Forrest replied: “I think that makes it harder and puts more pressure on us in every game because every team is trying to beat us.”

One should not be unduly hard on Forrest for the absence of logic demonstrated by that response, because media briefings are not his forte – his answers are usually Tweet-sized – and he was clearly intent on getting back to the dressing-room celebrations. Somebody, though, might remind him of the mantra that if you play for either half of the Old Firm you are expected to win every domestic game, whatever the context.

Celtic season-ticket holders – certainly those of this observer’s acquaintance – are adamant that the edge was taken off the season by Rangers’ absence. Bobby Lennox, the former Lisbon Lion who is a club host in the corporate hospitality areas, put it well on Saturday when he remarked that in normal circumstances he would ask how Rangers had fared, whereas this season he rarely knew anything about their fixtures.

That said, Celtic can play only the opponents who are available and, with the Scottish Cup final in mind, the principal value to them of St Johnstone’s visit was the reappearance of Scott Brown, after several weeks’ absence because of surgery on a damaged abductor muscle. The captain’s energy and influence at the heart of midfield is arguably Celtic’s most significant asset when he is fully fit.

Brown played for an hour before departing to a rousing ovation from the appreciative home fans, who were similarly generous with Forrest when he was replaced by Dylan McGeouch late in the proceedings.

As for St Johnstone, they still have a chance to overhaul Caley Thistle and finish third. “We’ve always been chasing this season,” said Dave Mackay, the Saints defender.

“Caley had a great run and we’ve been playing catch-up so we’ve done well to hang in there. Other than the Celtic game at the weekend we’ve done well, taking seven points out of nine, which isn’t a bad return.

“If we write off Parkhead as a bad day at the office and Celtic playing well then we can go into the Motherwell game next weekend with a bit of confidence. I really hope we can get some punters through the door because it’s a huge game for the club and the chance to sneak into Europe for the second season in a row.”